Such utensils or vessels are commonly employed, e.g. by way of cooking pots or pans. The handle member must be affixed to the utensil in such manner that any relative movement therebetween is prevented and that the utensil or vessel may be safely used when filled, too.
In kitchen use, vessels such as frying pans or cooking pots are conventionally put on an oven or range, namely on a hotplate, for heating food. Where food is treated in a microwave oven, it is necessary to have special utensils the structure and design of which must be adapted to microwave requirements. In particular, such utensils must not have projecting parts because of a hazard of jump spark, i.e. electric discharges. Consequently, standard pots and pans cannot be used in a microwave oven. This is of disadvantage in that, on the one hand, it is necessary to acquire special utensils suitable for use in a microwave oven and in that, on the other hand, conventionally treated food which got cold in a standard pot or pan may be heated in a microwave oven only after transfer into a special utensil suitable for the purpose.
It is an important object of the invention to provide a vessel or utensil which can be used both on a conventional oven or hotplate and in a microwave oven.
A principal feature of the invention is that at a front end portion of the handle member facing the utensil and at an associated mounting zone on the utensil, there is a detachable, matching snap-on device comprising at least one substantially vertical cavity and a corresponding vertical latch component that is adapted to be introduced into the cavity, the latter as well as the latch component being in an upper region of the front end portion of the handle member, whereas locking means for detachably connecting the handle member to the utensil are provided in a lower region of the front end portion of the handle member.
The utensil or vessel according to the invention is distinguished by a number of considerable advantages. Due to the possibility of detaching the handle member from the utensil, it can be employed in a microwave oven without any hazard of jump sparks or other operational failures. The detachable snap-on device permits joining the handle member to the utensil for conventional use such that the filled vessel, too, can be safely handled. Owing to the cavity and to the latching component that can be introduced therein, an economic way of manufacturing is possible. Moreover the design warrants a maximum of operational reliability, as even a less skillful person will properly attach the handle member since improper snapping-on is automatically avoided. The locking means according to the invention permits a strong connection to the utensil but easy detachment therefrom as well. Thus no tools or implements will be required for detaching the handle member from the utensil or for attaching it thereto. Further in accordance with the invention, the snap-on device may be dimensioned such that particular electric safety is obtained, especially in an arrangement whereby the snap-on device will project or protrude from the outer wall of the utensil less than other parts thereof, e.g. its upper rim or collar.
An advantageous embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the cavity is provided at the utensil and the latch component is on the handle member. This design permits arranging the more voluminous portions as well as parts of the latching means on the handle member which, as it is not used in a microwave oven, is not subject to restrictions in respect of projecting portions that require more space.
Special advantages are obtained by an embodiment wherein an outer wall of the utensil bears a frame closed in itself and provided with the cavity by way of a bulging portion that is spaced from the outer wall of the utensil. Favorable is also a design wherein the latch component comprises a tongue that projects upwardly from the front end portion of the handle member and is adapted to be introduced into the bulging portion of the frame. The latter can be quite flat so as to be very close to the outer wall of the vessel, which will be beneficial as to electrophysical effects during microwave operations. Other advantages are that the frame will not detract visually and that it may be provided within normal manufacturing procedures of the utensil. It may be mentioned here that the frame according to the invention permits polishing and cleaning the outer wall of the utensil after its inner surface has been coated, whereby the frame will not impede any automatic procedures for treating the surface and polishing it. Since the tongue provided at the handle member need have only a very small thickness, so that it may e.g. be made of sheet metal, the bulging portion of the frame can be designed in accordance with the invention such that it will protrude from the utensil outer wall only by a small margin. It is thus possible to restrict the enlargement of the utensil diameter caused by the mounting of the frame to an absolute minimum.
Preferably, the frame is directly welded to the utensil, e.g. by spot welding, and there may be some small distance of the non-welded frame portions to the utensil surface so that heat insulation is warranted once the handle member is attached.
Especially advantageous is an embodiment wherein a lower region of the frame is provided with a locking bulge adapted to receive a shackle that is movably arranged on the handle member. The design of the locking bulge may resemble that of the bulging portion for receiving the tongue on the handle member, whereby the locking bulge, too, will only protrude slightly from the outer wall of the utensil. Moreover, the shackle movably arranged on the handle member may be made as a strip of sheet metal so that manufacture is both simple and economical. In respect of the bulging of the frame, the shackle will also require merely a small space.
It will further be of advantage if the shackle is pretensioned and forms, with the locking bulge, a snap-action fixing means. Owing to such structure of the shackle it will not be necessary to operate it separately in order to attain secure locking of the handle member; rather, it will do to hook the upwardly directed tongue of the handle member under the bulging portion of the frame and to press the handle member towards the utensil. The yielding shackle will then snap in the locking bulge of the frame, whereby the handle member is securely connected to the utensil.
According to another favorable design, the shackle may comprise an operating tab in order to permit the operator to pull or swivel the shackle out of the locking bulge for detaching the handle member from the utensil. It will be noted that the size and location of the operating tab are irrelevant with regard to the use of the utensil in a microwave oven since, as mentioned above, the handle member will not be employed therein.
Expediently, the tongue may extend over the total width of the handle member and may be of equal width as the bulging portion. In such configuration, it is assured that the tongue fits the bulging portion of the frame so that any relative movement between the handle member and the utensil is effectively prevented.
By a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the handle member has, at its front end portion, lateral support shoes adapted to engage the outer wall of the utensil and/or the frame. It may be particularly favorable if these support shoes are dimensioned such that they will fit the inner volume confined by the frame so that any turning of the handle member relative to the utensil is prevented. The support shoes, therefore, serve not only for load transmission but also to prevent any turning or twisting of the handle member.
It is possible that the support shoes as well as the upwardly directed tongue of the handle member are integral to form a plate element that is joined to the handle member, e.g. by means of welding.